Insights and inspiration from our Montessori classrooms.

"No matter what we touch, an atom, or a cell, we cannot explain it without knowledge of the wide universe." - Maria Montessori, 1948, To Educate the Human Potential

The Elementary students present their space projects in these photos from 2000 - 2001.

Stay warm out there and have a terrific Wednesday!

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Wayback Wednesday: 2001 - This Was a Church...

..and this was its steeple.

Don Harvey and Tony Harvey ready the steeple for removal.

When we remodeled the former Calvary Baptist Church in 2000-2001 to become our Montessori school, we had to replace a few fixtures. The steeple was detached from the roof and lowered by crane to the parking lot below.

What do you do with a second-hand steeple? We gave it to a church down the road.

The demolition crew also removed the fiberglas baptistry by cutting it into pieces. All of the beautiful wood pews were sold. You can see one being used today in the school office. The colored windows were eventually replaced with clear glass.

This is what Building B looks like today.

Have a great Wednesday!

Wayback Wednesday: 1998 - MSGL Announced Plans to Expand

15 years ago the Lafayette Journal and Courier announced MSGL's plans to add an elementary program and move all of its programs to a new space.

The Morton Community Center on Chauncey Avenue had been MSGL's home since 1985.

As the article states, the new elementary program was originally going to be housed in a home on Rainbow Drive that had been donated by an MSGL family. A change of plans relocated that first class to some available classroom space inside the Temple Israel on Cumberland Avenue.

In February 2001, all of our programs, from the parent-infant class through elementary, moved into our permanent home in the former Calvary Baptist church on Soldiers Home Road.

In 2007, the elementary classes moved into the Montessori House, a remodeled home adjacent to the campus.

MSGL has plans to expand once again in the near future to add a second toddler classroom and a gym/gross motor space.

Wayback Wednesday: Halloween Edition

We're really reaching back here for Halloween gold - all the way back to 1989. Back in the day, the whole school had a costume parade in the Morton Center gymnasium. It was a big year for bunnies, clowns, and superheroes.

I hope you have enjoyed our first-ever Halloween edition of Wayback Wednesday. If you know anyone in these photos and want to share their names with us (or our website with them) we would really appreciate it. Have fun tomorrow and I hope you get lots and lots of candy - or not. Whichever you prefer :)

Wayback Wednesday: Taking a winter break

Winter is upon us and the staff of the Wayback Wednesday department is preparing to head south for the season. (The staff certainly wishes this was true.) Okay, we're not really going anywhere but we have discovered a treasure trove of awesome photos. We will be scanning them and organizing them over winter break. When everyone returns in January you can look forward to the beginning of "Building MSGL." It's the story of how our families built the MSGL campus that we know and love today.

To whet your appetites I am posting one photo from that winter of 2000. Look at this photo and see if you can figure out where in the school it is. The first commenter to get it correct wins a free Wayback Wednesday t-shirt. (The staff certainly wishes this was true.) Okay, no t-shirt but you can still be first. Have fun guessing!

Have a terrific Wednesday and an awesome winter break!

Wayback Wednesday: 2004 - Class Photos

Today is school picture day!

Harriet tries to convince Ian to blow that silly ducky off her head.

When Harriet and "the ducky" show up to take our pictures, you can bet that the children are well-dressed, the snack is no-mess, and the staff is slightly stressed - for two whole days. Sometimes there are tears and pouty faces, but never in front of the children :)

Anita McKinney, our first executive director, was leaving MSGL to live closer to her family in Florida. Her MSGL family held a farewell reception in her honor just before the winter break. These are photos of some of the children wishing her well.

Anita started working at MSGL in July, 1991 when the parent-owned school decided it needed a full-time. Up to then, the office staff coordinated with the Board of Directors. This next photo is actually from about 1996. It shows Anita with Beth Nichols, who was then the office manager, in the teeny, tiny office at Morton Center.

Beth is still with us and now works as our accountant. Anita has been working with Florida's Duval County Extension office since 1998. She is currently teaching personal financial management in Jacksonville. She is retiring in January and will start another "job" taking care of her twin grandchildren Dominic and Danica. She is excited about this new chapter in her life and told me, "They will be three by then , so I will start my own little Montessori home-school with them. I am looking forward to this next step!"